Hashiri Shincha ($24.75)

Description:

Hashiri means the "first (harvest or catch) of the season" and our Hashiri Shincha is just that. It is the first of the first flush teas. It is made from the very young leaves and buds of the tea plant. We are very glad to once again to be offering Hashiri Shincha. Not only do we get to supply you with a great tea, but we also have the opportunity to work with a tea grower who is essentially an artist in the tea field.

Origin: Uchimaki, Shizuoka

Harvest: First Flush 2017

Species: Yabukita

Every year Den's parent company, Shirakata-Denshiro Shoten, strikes a special contract with the Moriuchi tea farm to purchase their very young shincha leaves and use it as the only tea in our Hashiri Shincha. The Moriuchi tea farm is owned and operated by Mr. Yoshio Moriuchi who has a brilliant history in tea farming. He has won Gold and Silver medals in the past several years at the World Green Tea Contest, the O-Cha Frontier Contest, and the Shizuoka Tea Auction. His passion for tea and his spirit of ingenuity are still growing. He uses an original natural fertilizer that he blends himself. He is very careful at timing the harvest to bring out the best flavor of the tea leaf. His first flush tea is very delicate and the top buds and tea leaves are carefully picked by hand.

After the leaves are picked, Mr. Moriuchi makes Aracha (rough tea) with the young leaves. The Aracha is brought to the Shirakata-Denshiro Shoten's factory, where it is processed as little as possible. To maintain its field freshness especially for this Hashiri Shincha, there is no blending and only a light roasting. Consequently it is somewhat delicate and will be available for a very limited time.

Den's 2017 Hashiri Shincha Tasting Comments:

I opened the recently arrived bag of Hashiri Shincha and I was impressed with the sharp, fine, shiny and beautiful tea leaves. It proved to me that this tea is made with very healthy young tea leaves. I measured the tea and brewed it for 90 seconds with 160F water as we normally recommend. The first sip brought out a slightly pale taste that left a gentle and comfortable feeling in my mouth. I sensed a film of Umami and gentle bitterness in my mouth and this film stayed for a while. It is a unique taste that was quite different from the normal aftertaste. I brewed a 2nd cup. The 2nd cup was cloudier and had a fresher bitterness that also covered inside my mouth. This bitterness was still a very comfortable flavor but very different from the normal bitterness or astringency you may have experienced. Through my tasting experience, I know that high a quality Sencha has an elegant bitterness and enhanced Umami. This Hashiri Shincha has just that flavor.

Finally, I made a new cup and like every year I brewed it with almost boiled water which brings out a more aromatic and strong (bitter) cup. I liked it! The bitterness is still very comfortable which again proves that 2017 Hashiri Shincha is a young but mature tea that has a good flavor and elegant taste however you brew it. I'm sure your palate will thoroughly enjoy our 2017 Hashiri Shincha.

2017 Shincha Reports from Moriuchi Tea Farm

4/22/17Our tea taster, Yoshinori Takeda, visits the farm often in the spring to check the conditions of the tea bush and its flushing. On his recent visit he found the new buds and leaves are growing slowly and it looks like we will have to wait another week for the tea leaves to have good flavor and enough supply for our needs.

4/27/17Despite the chilly weather last week at Moriuchi Tea Farm, the weather turned warmer and the time to pick the tea has arrived.

Now Hashiri Shincha is being picked and produced. It will be air-shipped soon!

4/28/17Can you see tiny crowd in the tea garden? Here at beautiful Moriuchi tea farm, veteran workers are picking new tea every day through May. Your Hashiri Shincha will be shipped to you next week!

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